Refrigerator guard

ABSTRACT

A device as described for preventing food and other items stored on the shelves of refrigerators and the like from slipping from the shelves after the refrigerator or other storage device has been subjected to jostling and the door thereof is subsequently opened. In its preferred form, the invention comprises a guard rail designed to hook over the top and bottom shelves of the refrigerator, having baffles mounted thereon. The baffles extend above each shelf so that items stored on the shelves will be unable to slip off.

Uted States Patent [1 1 Kirkemo 51 Sept. 11, 1973 1 REFRIGERATOR GUARD[76] Inventor:

[22] Filed:

Lillian F. Kirkemo, 951 Ronald Ave., Apt. 311, Missoula, Mont. 59801Oct. 22, 1971 I21] Appl. No.: 191,761

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,757,061 2,976,101 3/1961 Rooney1 211/150 X 3,300,056 l/1967 Kaspar 211/134 Primary Examiner-Ramon S.Britts Att0rneyMichael T. Platt et a1.

57 ABSTRACT A device as described for preventing food and other itemsstored on the shelves of refrigerators and the like from slipping fromthe shelves after the refrigerator or other storage device has beensubjected to jostling and the door thereof is subsequently opened. Inits preferred form, the inventioncomprises a guard rail designed to hookover the top and bottom shelves of the refrigerator, having bafflesmounted thereon. The baf- Wheary 211/44 X fles extend above each shelfso that items stored on the Brown 5/33 shelves will be unable to slipoff. DArcey.... 312/291 X I Kennedy 211/113 X 4 Claims, 3 DrawingFigures 9 1" G %fin 9 I I ||il i ll l m 1 11 i :,zf I

' l 1 2 l f 2 11 I L/fl /7 w HL HLR 5 F111 I U l a 21:11-77:12: :f ,r nI, //1 l1r g f h t i i i- 7/1956 Anderson 211/90 X REFRIGERATOR GUARDThis invention relates to food storage means and more particularly to animproved theans for retaining food and other stored items on the shelvesof a refrigerator or the like during travel and other conditions wheresevere jostling of the storage shelves might occur.

In the past, it has been found to be virtually impossible to retainstored food on the shelves of a refrigerator in a camper, trailer or thelike. Due to the varied road conditions which such vehicles encounter,such as sudden stops, precipitous curves and steep grades, it has beenfound that even the most carefully packed refrigerator will be subjectto disarray of the stored items. When this has occurred and the door ofthe refrigerator is opened, the dislodged food items will generallytumble to the floor where they may be either broken, smashed orotherwise rendered useless. Such occurrences are particularly disastrouswhen one is camping in remote areas where the transported food is noteasily replaced. To date no satisfactory solution to this foodtransportation and storage problem had been found.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide improved meansfor storing food during transit. A further object of this invention isto provide apparatus for retaining stored food on the shelves ofrefrigerators during transit. A still further and more particular objectof the present invention is to provide means for preventing stored foodand the like from slipping from the shelves of refrigerators and otherfood storage means when the door thereof is opened.

Still another object of this invention is to provide such food storageguard means which can be easily assembled and utilized with any standardrefrigerator or other food storage apparatus having shelves, with nomodification of the food storage apparatus being necessary.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparentfrom the following description and claims, and from the accompanyingdrawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view, with parts broken away, of arefrigerator incorporating the shelf guard structure of the presentinvention;

I FIG. 2 is a side view taken in section through line 2-2 in FIG. 1 andpartly broken away to show in detail the present invention; and

FIG. 3 is a top view in section taken through line 3-3 in FIG. 1 andpartly broken away.

Referring now to the drawing, designates the refrigerator cabinet,having a freezer compartment 10a and coils, shown schematically at 10b,incorporated therewith in a conventional manner. A plurality of storageshelves 17 having spaced rod like members are conventionally mounted onshelf supports 17a. The aforedescribed refrigerator structure forms nopart of the present invention and is intended to be merelyrepresentational of typical refrigerator or other food storageapparatus.

The guard means of the present invention as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3comprises substantially rectangular tubular frame means 16 on whichismounted a plurality of baffles 13 equal in number to the number ofshelves 17. The baffles are so constructed that when the guard is inplace as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, each baffle will extend above itsassociated shelf so as to prevent food reposing on that shelf fromslidingoff when the door of the food storage apparatus is opened. Thebaffles are also substantially spaced from each other so as to allow auser of the food storage apparatus to insert 13 are each'provided withtwo hook members 14 for mounting the guard of the present invention. Thehook members 14, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, are designed to extenddownwardly through the space between rods 15 in the top and bottomshelves 17. The shape and spacing of the hook members 14 are chosen soas to properly position the baffles 13 above the shelves 17, when thehook members are engaged with the shelves.

As can be seen, the refrigerator guard of the present invention iseasily mounted in place by slipping hooks 14 over the top and bottomshelves [7 and may similarly be readily removed when the use of theguard is not required. Further, it should be observed that the guardmeans of the present invention may be constructed of light-weight metalso that it is easily transported and handled. In addition toitsapplication to refrigerators used in house trailers, campers andmotor homes, it may also be used in food storage lockers or compartmentsin motor boats or other water transportation where erratic movement maybe encountered leading to the dislodgement of the stored food articles.

While a specific embodiment of a refrigerator guard has been set forthin the foregoing specification, it will be understood that variousmodifications within the spirit of the invention may occur to thoseskilled in the with any type of refrigerator or food storage apparatusart. For example, it should be apparent that the refrig- 'erator guardof the present invention may be utilized having shelves and that thenumber of baffles and hooks may be adjusted to suit the particularapplication to which the invention is put. Other modifications will bereadily apparent to those skilled in the art and it is thereforeintended that the invention be limited only by the scope of the claimsappended hereto.

What is claimed is:

l. A refrigerator guard for preventing dislodged articles from rollingOK the refrigerator shelves when the refrigerator door is opened,comprising in combination:

' a. a plurality of refrigerator shelves having front edges;

b. a rigid, single, unitary frame of substantially rectangular shape andof a size substantially coextensive with the refrigerator storage areaoccupied by said shelves;

c. hook means mounted on said frame means readily, removably engagedwith said shelves for supporting said frame means; and

d. a plurality of baffle means equal in number to the number of saidshelves, mounted on said frame means in proximity to said front edges ofthe shelves and extending upwardly from andsubstantially perpendicularto said shelves to retain said dislodged articles thereon.

bottom baffle means.

4. The apparatus set forth in claim 3 wherein said baffle means arespaced so as to allow access to said 5 shelves.

1. A refrigerator guard for preventing dislodged articles from rollingoff the refrigerator shelves when the refrigerator door is opened,comprising in combination: a. a plurality of refrigerator shelves havingfront edges; b. a rigid, single, unitary frame of substantiallyrectangular shape and of a size substantially coextensive with therefrigerator storage area occupied by said shelves; c. hook meansmounted on said frame means readily, removably engaged with said shelvesfor supporting said frame means; and d. a plurality of baffle meansequal in number to the number of said shelves, mounted on said framemeans in proximity to said front edges of the shelves and extendingupwardly from and substantially perpendicular to said shelves to retainsaid dislodged articles thereon.
 2. The apparatus set forth in claim 1wherein said hook means comprises a plurality of hooks mounted on two ormore of said baffle means.
 3. The apparatus set forth in claim 2,comprising at least a top and a bottom baffle Means, and wherein atleast two hooks are mounted on each of said top and bottom baffle means.4. The apparatus set forth in claim 3 wherein said baffle means arespaced so as to allow access to said shelves.